capitol hill but fails to sway them. and 'tis the season. find out which companies ended up on "consumer reports" naughty and nice list. >> announcer: this is "early today" for wednesday, november 28th, 2012. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. and tonight is the night when someone could win the largest powerball jackpot in history. it's $500 million and counting. lottery officials say with brisk sales the estimated jackpot could rise again before tonight's drawing. and while the odds are stacked against you at 1 in 175 million, nbc's jay gray reports plenty of folks are lining up to pay $2 to dream. >> reporter: the rush for the right numbers is on this morning. >> good luck. >> thank you. >> reporter: millions looking to beat the odds and the deadline before tonight's powerball drawing. >> give me two separate powerballs.

>> reporter: lottery officials say a billion tickets or more will be sold before the numbers are pulled tonight. >> people are crazy about powerball. it's now big money. >> reporter: the biggest money in powerball history, a jackpot of $500 million and growing. >> who knows? it might be your day. >> reporter: to be your day you'd have to beat 175 million to 1 odds. for comparison, you have a better chance of becoming an astronaut, being elected president, winning an academy award or being struck by lightning multiple times. still, that doesn't stop players from planning how they'll spend their winnings. >> i think i would buy an island. i would just buy an island. it would be my island. >> buy an aston martin db9. >> i think i would probably retire, maybe live on a yacht. >> reporter: others are quite sure about what they wouldn't do if they won. >> i have a job interview tomorrow. i wouldn't go on that. >> reporter: chances are none of are quitting our day jobs but --

>> well, you're always hopeful that you're going to win something. >> reporter: because somebody has to win, right? jay gray, nbc news. all right. well, elsewhere today president obama will hold meetings with leaders of large corporations to talk about averting the tax hikes and budget cuts from the so-called fiscal cliff. the president met with small business owners yesterday to talk about the effect on their companies from taxes and other changes. and right now congress is stalled over finding a solution as democrats demand higher taxes for high wage earners while republicans want cuts to entitlement programs. elsewhere on the hill, u.n. ambassador susan rice spent her day behind closed doors explaining statements she made back in september about those deadly attacks on the u.s. consulate in libya. her defense failed to convince her republican critics. nbc's tracie potts is on capitol hill with more on this. tracie, good morning to you. >> lynn, good morning. rice admitted that when she said

the ambassador and three others who were killed were the result of spontaneous attacks, the information was partially wrong. as she has done before, in a statement after her meeting, she blamed it on bad intelligence information, talking points where references to al queda had been taken out according to sources and attacked changes to demonstrations, despite the defense from the white house, despite her sitting down with republicans john mccain, kelly ayotte and senator lindsey graham, it looks like that meeting at least from her point of view was unsuccessful. here is what those republicans had to say after their meeting. >> we are significantly troubled by many of the answers that we got and some that we didn't get. concerning evidence that is overwhelming leading up to the attack on our consulate. >> clearly the impression that was given of the information given to the american people was

wrong. in fact, ambassador rice said today absolutely it was wrong. >> so key republicans not convinced. but top democrats like harry reid coming to her rescue saying, and i'm quoting here, the personal attacks against ambassador rice by certain republican senators have been outrageous and utterly unmoored from facts and reality. today she's back on the hill, meeting with the head of the homeland security committee saying she's not sure they have 60 votes to confirm her if, in fact, she's nominated. lynn well, jill kelley, the tampa socialite caught up in the scandal involving former cia chief david petraeus, is now going on the offense. after two weeks of silence kelley's lawyers has released e-mails he wrote designed to prove she never intentionally or acted inappropriately. one letter to the u.s. attorney demands to know who in the government leaked kelley's name to the media after she received e-mails from petraeus biographer and mistress paula broadwell.

meanwhile, "the new york times" reports the pentagon investigation into e-mails between kelley and general allen t top nato commander in afghanistan, has been narrowed down to between 60 and 70 messages that according to a defense official bear a fair amount of scrutiny. well, if there is any doubt the holidays are fast approaching, here's a sure sign. tonight is the lighting of the world famous rockefeller center christmas tree. always a favorite time of year around here. right downstairs bill karins is live on the plaza for us with a preview of what the weather will be like, there, here, all around the nation. good morning, bill. >> good morning, lynn. a beautiful spruce stands 70 feet behind me and 50 feet wide. this tree will be lit later this evening on nbc at 8:00. this will be a great show and a lot of performances, the musical guests, hosted by al roker and savannah guthrie. you can expect people such as

cee-lo green, mariah carey, trace adkins, billy crystal and bet midler. the storm went through the northeast and behind it very cold conditions. as they do light the tree up, and this is a look at last year's tree, temperatures will be around 39 with a windchill of 32. let's talk about the bad stuff. all the weather moving into the west. the rain has arrived. the much advertised heavy rain event has begun for northern coastal areas of california, ft. bragg, eureka, all the way to crescent city, inland areas will get drenched. it looks like the rain is creeping towards san francisco as we speak. how much rain? we have the potential to end up with inches of rain along the northwest coastal areas, possibilities of three to six inches. that could cause some flooding concerns in the days ahead. as far as the forecast is going to go, eventually this system is going to sprawl out and affect all areas from the northwest to southern california. make sure everyone has their

umbrella handy and maybe a little patience as you're driving through the rain. soaked roads the highest of elevations. not going to get a lot of beneficial snow at the ski resorts out of this one. lynn, as i mentioned, these trees get donated every year. if you want to donate one, it has to at least be 75 feet tall and about 35 feet wide. >> okay. >> those are your measurements to work with. >> i'm going to have to move out of the city for that one. thanks so much. don't miss tonight's star-studded holiday special, the lighting of the christmas tree, "christmas in rockefeller center" hosted by al roker and savannah guthrie. it begins at 8:00 tonight on this nbc station.

another firing in apple's maps fee os co-. duke and duchess of cambridge make their debut in came ridge. all that just ahead. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." here are some of the stories making news this morning. in egypt, more angry protests in cairo against president mohammed morsi and his decree granting himself nearly absolute power. more than 200,000 people packed tahrir square. four female soldiers who served tours in iraq or afghanistan filed a federal lawsuit yesterday trying to force the pentagon to end a ban on women serving in combat jobs. the suit says service women have often found themselves in combat without receiving the same rewards or opportunities for promotion. a federal judge is ordering big tobacco companies to run ads saying they deliberately deceived the american public about the health effects of smoking. appeals are expected. and prince william and his wife kate who became the duke

and duchess of cambridge on their wedding day last year made their first official visit to cambridge this morning. the couple are meeting with students from cambridge university. they will also visit a homeless charity and hospital. here's how wall street will kick off the day. the dow fell 89 points yesterday. the s&p was down seven. the nasdaq lost nine. overseas markets were also down. in tokyo, the nikkei dropped 114 points while in hong kong the hang seng fell 135. so a lack of progress on fiscal cliff talks stalled stocks yesterday so today we'll have to see what happens when goldman sacks ceo lloyd blankfein, comcast ceo brian roberts of this network's parent company, and yahoo chief marissa myer join other corporate execs at a white house budget meeting with the president. on the streets, new home sales data and the feds beige book survey will be released. the best consumer confidence reading in nearly five years took investors by surprise yesterday.

after hours green mountain coffee perked up more than 20% thanks to sharply higher than expected earnings. elsewhere, monster beverage got a boost from news that the fda is taking a closer look at the health effects of energy drinks. investors are betting a looming crackdown on the industry may be overblown. in the wake of apple's recent apology for the failings of its mapping app, a second employee involved in its mapping operations has reportedly been fired. more than 15,000 of these step 2 children's riding toys are being recalled because kids who lean too far forward on the seat can go over the handle bars. "consumer reports" is out with its third annual naughty and nice list. so retailers nordstrom and kohl's get a thumbs up, that's thanks to their hassle free return policies, while airlines delta and spirit get a lump of coal for their costly upgrades and add-on fees. for the second year in a row california's debt has put the golden state at the bottom of 24/7 wall street's annual 50 state financial health check.

and for the first time north dakota tops the list. that's thanks to an oil and gas boon that's wiped out its budget deficit and brought unemployment to the lowest in the nation. all right, coming up, a basketball roundup, and remembering the man who transformed baseball. plus, new york city's iconic empire state building shows off its new high tech lighting. you're watching "early today."

here's a look at some of the other stories making news early today in america. a tragedy in new york last night as a commuter bus plowed into a long island home and killed a 6-year-old little boy that was inside. police say the bus had just swerved to avoid a pedestrian and then just lost control. at least 11 bus passengers and the boy's 7-year-old brother were treated for minor injuries. just horrible. the empire state building added flare to the new york city skyline. alicia keys flipped the switch on the inaugural light shows which were synchronized to her songs. the new lighting system displays over 16 million colors with various effects. and, finally, one texas man is using his noggin for a novel idea. hey. the 27-year-old has hired a team of human billboards for baldlogo.com. for 327 bucks a day clients can temporarily tattoo their logo or

brand name on employees' scalps. a portion of his profits will go toward helping kids with alopecia. that's a hair loss disease that he suffers from so a great cause there. in sports, we begin with the nba. sixers and mavs. philadelphia's defense forced five straight turnovers to build a ten-point lead in the fourth quarter and they held off a dallas rally for a 100-98 win. in college basketball, cody zeller of top ranked indiana scored 20 points as the hoosiers rolled over number 14 north carolina, 83-59. number three michigan got 16 points from tim hardaway jr. including a lay-up in the closing minutes. the wolverines held on to beat north carolina state, 79-72. and the former leader of the major league baseball players association marvin miller has died at 95. he won free agency for players in 1975 creating the era of multi-million dollar contracts. one former commissioner called miller baseball's most important

figure of the last 50 years. well, just ahead, remorse on the set of "two and a half men." plus, north korean dictator kim jong un celebrates his heartthrob status, well, at least in china. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." i'm here live at nbc's 30 rockefeller plaza.

behind me you'll see what is the lit-up christmas tree. tonight it will be chilly, but a great show here live on nbc. ton west coast is where all the rain and trouble is. all the big stormy weather be affecting the west coast. especially from san francisco to san jose. sacramento northwards up the coastline of california. you'll be the target in the next 48 hours for the heaviest rain, possibility of up to six inches that could cause flooding concerns. the forecast today, eventually some of the clouds and rain will work towards los angeles. that will be later today. more showery weather north of portland towards seattle. as we go to thursday, not much of a change. temperatures will remain pretty seasonal in the 50s and 60's. that's what's prevent ag big snowstorm. we will see the wet weather continuing for the days ahead. i want to thank you so much for the hot cocoa i never got.

well, maybe angus t. jones doesn't want you to stop watching "two and a half men" after all. the 19-year-old actor released an apology after claiming the show was filth and that viewers should stop watching it. in his statement jones says he has the highest respect for all the people he works with and is thankful for the opportunities they have given him. well, former co-star charlie sheen decided to weigh in saying it's clear to him that the show is cursed. >> last night on the colbert report, stephen colbert talked about the republican's tax cut dilemma. >> every republican in congress signed a no tax pledge created by americans for tax reform chair, grover norquist. now some republicans are abandoning the anti-tax pledge as fast as they abandoned -- what's his name? i got it. don't help me. don't help me.

rip flaumbe. >> we recently reported "the on june" satire newspaper named north korean leader kim jong un the sexiest man alive. apparently the joke was lost on china's communist party newspaper. they ended up running a 55-page spread of the leader congratulating him for the title. you can understand how that can be confusing, you know, his fashion sense. >> because i'm gullible? >> a little bit of everything. come on. you've got to have found with it. >> the "two and a half men" with thing, should we believe the video where he was live or the pr statement? >> i think we should believe he makes $350,000 an episode and that's enough said. this is from care 11 news in minneapolis, where a wave of baby blue swept through a

maternity ward for three days. delivery room doctors shouted it's a boy 19 consecutive times between 5:00 p.m. saturday and 7:30 a.m. monday when a baby girl finally ended the streak. the parents were happy to learn they were part of a very unusual weekend. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just the first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

so who says santa only comes down the chimney? a scuba diving santa paid an early visit to one tokyo aquarium. dressed in his traditional red and white, the scuba santa delivered gifts of fish and shrimp to sharks and rays in the tank.

the show's highlight involved santa holding up a cardboard star as fish swam in circles around him and it created this really cool christmas tree of marine life. nice. well, a new tech toy in japan really has some photos jumping off the page. that's because the new printing technology makes it possible to turn home photos into three dimensional pieces of art. customers stand still for about 15 minutes while a scanner records their 360 degree image. it starts around $255 and customers are left with action figure size models of themselves. don't know if i'd want one though. and finally, gangnam style has officially reached a new level of popularity. it's actually how one prison in thailand is promoting good behavior. 70 inmates joined together for a gangnam style dance competition dressed in wigs, face paint, and other costumes. prison authorities say the event has actually curbed fighting and

even given inmates a chance to get some exercise. i guess this must be a low security prison. >> if i go to prison, that's where i want to go, lynn. send me there. >> i absolutely will, bill, just because i want to see you dressed up in one of those wigs and outfits. a vest with no shirt on. well, it's time for now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here on nbc. >> and as you may have heard, it is time to mention one or two things that we're excited about here. the switch will be flipped tonight on the 2012 rockefeller center christmas tree. you can watch the star-studded lighting ceremony tonight at 8:00, 7:00 central time right here on nbc. this afternoon first lady michelle obama will welcome military families to the white house to view the 2012 holiday decorations. this is video from last year's festivities. mrs. obama scheduled to speak in the east room. and happy birthday to one of our favorite funny men, jon stewart. he turns 50 today. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. and tonight be sure to watch

"nbc nightly news" with brian williams. and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. yahoo ceo marissa mayer talks about today's meeting with president obama and the future of her company, and "the voice" finalist chris mann performs songs from his debut album. and now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," it's just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. have a good one.

good morning, everybody. it is 4:30 on the news. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. a storm began rolling into the